Should the legal drinking age lower or stay at 21?
blue devils’ dvocate A Publication of Merced College and Journalism 32 Volume 14, No. 2 March 2007 Should the legal drinking age lower or stay at 21? By Victoria Alvarez Advocate Staff Writer 21. Does anything come to mind when seeing this number? Perhaps most of us were thinking about alcohol. Sure enough lucky number 21 is the legal drinking age in the United States. Why? When in other countries, the legal drinking age is 18 years old, and even 16 in others! Does it make sense for the legal drinking age to be 21 when at age 18 we are allowed to smoke, buy pornography and legally have sexual relations with others? Or more seriously, join a branch of the military and get shipped off to fight a war in Iraq or Afghanistan in which we can lose our lives! Perhaps the opinions are many, but we need to stick to the facts and the numbers. Back in the late 1960’s and early 70’s the legal drinking age was 18, when a number of states lowered the drinking age from 21 to 18. Due to this change there was a significant increase in highway deaths of teens by the change with this law. So in the early 1980’s another movement started in which MADD and a group of concerned parents began to raise the drinking age back to 21, and succeeded. The Federal government was going to with-hold federal highway money if states didn’t raise the drinking limit. Af ter this law changed back to 21, so did the number of highway fatalities. Research showed that teenage deaths in fatal car crashes due to alcohol consump tion dropped, in some cases up to 28%. Clearly more young people were killed on the highways after having the drinking age lowered to 18. Public Information Officer Shane Ferriera, from the Atwater CHP gives the following statistics on DUI ar rests for the last two years in Merced County: DUI Arrests Total under 21 arrests 2004 812 99 2005 834 99 2006 1054 121 There are also dangers and consequences of underage drinking. Alcohol affects the brains of young people. It is a fact that adolescent teens don’t finish develop ing until a person is around 20 years old, and one of the last regions to mature is involved with the abil ity to plan and make complex judgments. The book Buzzed says that young brains are built to acquire new memories and are “built to learn.” Buzzed reports, “It is no accident that people are educated in our society during their early years, when they have more capacity for memory and learning. However, with this added memory capacity may come additional risks associated with the use of alcohol.” Apparently on studies using animals, young brains are vulnerable to dangerous effects of alcohol, especially on learning and memory function. If this is true of people, then young people who drink may be “powerfully impairing the brain Continued on page 2 Blue Devils’ Advocate Campus News Index Campus News Page 2 Merced College 3600 M Street Merced, CA 95348-2898 Page 2...Index/Drinking Age Page 3...Your Money Page 4-5...New Library Page 6...Campus Talk Page 7...Alcoholic Anonymous Opinions Page 8-9...Editorial Sports Page 10-11...Track & Field, Swimming, BaseBall and Softball Entertainment Reporters-Joseph Abarca, Sara Almario, Victoria Alvarez, Logan Ash, Arika Baria, Martin Jimenez, Pakue Lee, Leah Moua, Benito Ortiz, Lucy Renteria, and the James Szyndler Page 12-13...Local Sound Page 14-15...Trippin’ Page 16...Eye on Video Drinking Age Continued from cover functions on which they rely so heavily for learn ing.” Alcohol use can also affect pregnant women and their babies. Alcohol-related behavioral disorders (ARBD) and alcohol-related neurodevel opmental disorders (ARND) can occur in babies of women who drink moderately or lightly during pregnancy. Breast feeding while drinking alcohol is not a good thing to consider for your newborn. The March of Dimes Resource Center (MOD 2002) has reported, “Small amounts of alcohol do get into breast milk and are passed on to the baby. One study found that the breastfed babies of women who had one or more drinks a day were a little slower in acquiring motor skills (such as crawling and walking) than babies who had not been exposed to alcohol. Large amounts of alcohol also may interfere with ejection of milk from the breast. For these reasons, the March of Dimes rec ommends that women abstain from alcohol while they are nursing.” All in all keeping the drinking age at 21 is not much of a bad idea as it sounds. We all secretly do it, and I cannot keep anyone from doing it, but it wouldn’t hurt to drink responsibly where alcohol is involved. You wouldn’t want to be the next victim in a highway fatality due to alcohol intoxication. Photographers-Joseph Abarca, Logan Ash, Pakue Lee and James Szyndler Advocate Office Phone-(209) 386-6655 Advocate Fax-(209) 381-6481 Myspace-www.myspace.com/bdadvocate Email-advocate@mccd.edu Faculty Advisor: Mary Jackson Humanities Division Chair: Dr. Max Hallman Reprographics: Mike Smith, Robert Alvarado and Jose Flores Blue Devils’ Advocate Campus News Page 3 Your Money By Pakue lee Advocate Staff Writer Lots of students here at Merced Community College are probably wondering why we are being charge a $14.00 student health fee. This is not a new policy at the college, but has been a fee waged by the government. Since the government no lon ger pays for this fee, students are just discovering that it exists. Well, worry no more because here are the benefits that can be useful and it is located at your school. This student health fee is to help students develop a responsibility for their own health. Also, it is to help students to be aware of the health care provid ers who are here to assist students with informa tion regarding health interests and concerns. The health providers are Donya Avila (the Student Health Nurse) and Otis Goodwin (the Student Health Services Clerk). The student health fee is a good cost because it covers basic medical service such as: basic first aid, TB testing, over-the-coun ter medication samples, pregnancy test, Health Counseling, and much more. Importantly, if an accident or an emergency occurs on campus the nurses here in the Student Health will quickly get you help from the Security Police and outer resources to get you going to your physician. Do not worry about a thing because your information is confidential. For those who are not familiar with these services, Planned Parenthood Expanded Service can also help (see calendar of events for dates & times). Many stu dents here are not aware of this health benefit, but for those who know here are some fee backs from student who has once or twice visited the Student Health. Students says, “It was fast, easy, and it did not take long…even if there was a long, the nurses were fast at getting the line going…when you think about it, it isn’t that much.” On average, the students on campus recommend a “Yes” on visit ing the Student Health office. It’s a great place to rest, get a check-up and most importantly, the nurses are there to answer any health concerns. By paying for this student health fee it will cost you less time, less money, and now you can be safe for each semester when you attend Merced College (Note: it only covers individuals, who registers as a student at Merced College). Look on the bright side, if you do not have health insurance this is the greatest opportunity to check in. This health fee is only $14.00 and lasts up to about five month. With this small cost students can now un derstand how important it is to check their health and that there is help for those students who do not have health insurances. Location: In the Student Union, next to Disabled Student Services Hours of Operation: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Wednesday: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon 1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Phone Number: (209) 384-6045 Blue Devils’ Advocate Campus News Page 4 Wide Open Spaces New Library has much to offer students with four times the square footage, and much improved Seating By Logan Ash Advocate Staff Writer Wide open spaces. When one hears those words, option. “I’ve been in there a couple of times since one might think of Montana, or Wyoming. The we’ve been out, and I didn’t realize how small last thing to come to mind might be the Merced it is,” Walsh notes, “People didn’t even want to College library, with memories of the cramped, come in and use it because it just felt small; it felt crowded, and sometimes odorous Lesher Library, like someone was at your shoulder all the time.” that round odd And let’s building with not forget the ugly foun the odor, tain in front a musty of it, the idea slightly of wide open putrid odor, spaces and a that made library, even the place just in the smell like same sentence 1971, and might seem yes it can quite odd. smell like With only 1971, if 20,000 square you have feet, not even ever been in all of it be the Lesher ing used for library, library purpos Logan Ash /Advocate you will es, the Lesher The clean, modern, asthetically pleasing facade of the new Library know what library was not Media Center is a pleasant change from the outdated drab of the I am talking much as far as Lesher Library building. about. space is con With cerned, with seating enough for only 200 people. cramped overcrowded conditions, and limited ser According to library director Dr. Susan Walsh, vices to students, it became evident that we needed “When two hundred people were there, you felt something to replace the Lesher Library. like you were in a meeting, not studying, because Thus enters the new Merced College Library that meant every chair was full, and sometimes in Media Center, a marvel of modern design and March and in October, if the weather was bad, we appointments. Amazingly, contrary to some ru had people sitting on the floor, which made it even mors, the library was scheduled to be completed more claustrophobic.” There were only sixteen in July, but was completed early due to diligent computers, so word processing was often not an and speedy work by the construction crews, and Blue Devils’ Advocate Campus News was opened ahead of schedule without celebra tion or fanfare on Monday, February 26th. Located across the way from the print-shop and the police department, the elegantly modern 65,000 square foot building offers many appointments not seen in the Lesher library, such as big comfy chairs, sleek brushed aluminum lamps, and 69 comput ers, more than four times as many, as in the old library,. “You can really come in plop down and read a book all day,” says Walsh, “we have seats for 700 people, and they’re spread out all over the whole building, and its open, and its quiet... and the tables are the right height, and you can either work at a table or sit in a chair, I mean there are choices, it’s just a wonderful place.” There are also the convenient, useful appointments of 12 study rooms, and 16 person student meeting rooms. “I already have people booking [meeting rooms] like crazy.” Walsh said. It may also be soon appointed with wireless internet capabilities, though this is dependent upon the college. The library also has the unique appoint ment of original artwork. The library is currently appointed with six original Quiltwork pieces, by local artist Wendy Clem, And by March 22, there will be an additional six photographs, taken and donated by our own Alan Beymer for a total of twelve original works throughout. 5 of those pho tographs will be installed on the back wall, and one will be installed in the archive. The artwork was generously donated by Logan Ash /Advocate many, includ- There are many original pieces of ing the library art throughout, including this quilt director Dr. design by Wendy Clem Susan Walsh, and Mayor Ellie Wooten among others. Page 5 Logan Ash /Advocate The New Library Media Center offersWide open spaces with plenty of elbow room for students and teachers alike Although not much was had as far as cel ebration on the opening day, don’t speak too soon. On April first, once the grass and trees are in, there will be a huge grand opening party, abound with entertainment. There will be a live band outside, a band that hasn’t been decided yet, but will be a younger modern band for the students, not older music for the teachers. There will also be some quiet inside music, performed by Curtis Nelson and the Madrigal singers, for the entertainment of the older crowd. It seems it should turn out to be quite an extravaganza.. All in all, The new library is a great benefit to students, and a tremendous improvement over the Lesher library. I advise anyone who hasn’t yet visited the new library to do so, as you don’t really know how luxurious it is until you see it for yourself. Blue Devils’ Advocate Campus Talk Page 6 Are You in Favor of Lowering the Legal Age of Drinking to 18? Why or Why Not? “No, because I don’t drink and there’s no reason to drink alcohol.” -Abel Torres, 18 “Yes, because if the govern ment thinks you can join the military and to die for your country, I don’t see a reason for you not to drink at 18.” -Lilia Tapia, 18 “No, becasue based on the accidents due to drinking not everyone can handle it.” “Yes, if you’re able to die for your country at 18, then you can drink beer.” -William Lampley, 21 -Kenneth Jackson, 45 “No, because I had to wait till I was 21.” -Lindsay Menzel, 23 “No, because drinking doesn’t make you func tion right.” -Kevin Lee, 20 “Yes, because the age 18 is already considered as an adults and if they can control themselves why not.” -Kou Yang, 18 “Yes, people are doing it no matter what and they do it because it’s illegal and if they make it to 18 then it will be come more of a desirer.” -Desiree Mesa, 18 Blue Devils’ Advocate Campus News Page 7 AA and You! By Arika Baria Advocate Staff Writer In an old dinky house on the corner of Danward and Beachwood, you’ll find a small room with no windows, a room where coffee runs like water, where pamphlets act as wallpaper, where it’s years are seen on every wall and everything in it, and where a large group of anonymous folks convene and share their personal tragic tales of alcoholism. “God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can and Wisdom to know the difference,” is their posted serenity prayer. Here everyone gets the opportunity to speak out free from judgment and criticism, because everyone has their own experi ences that have led them to this fellowship. Alco holics Anonymous is an international fellowship of men and women who have a drinking problem. It is nonprofessional, self-supporting, nonde nominational, multiracial, apolitical, and available almost everywhere. There are no requirements for membership; all you have to do is want to do something about your drinking problem. Bob, a member of AA for 18 years still attends. Alcohol was the cause of his first divorce and then the absence of alcohol was the cause of his second. “Drinking isolates activities,” he says. “He says the way to stay sober is to talk to another drunk. These people are animations of God.” When asked about his thoughts on lowering the legal drinking age he says, “Everything begins with education and responsibility. You don’t have to be drunk to enjoy yourself. I was trying to find spirituality in a bottle, but now I find spiritually in people.” For those of you that think you are too young to be an alcoholic, you’re not alone. You might think, “I haven’t been drinking for that long or I don’t fall down or have memory lapses.” For some self-enlightenment try this Score-itYourself Quiz… Do you lose time for school or work because of drinking? Do you drink or lose shyness and build up selfconfidence? Is drinking affecting your reputation? Do you drink to escape from study or home wor ries? Does it bother you if somebody says maybe you drink too much? Do you have to take a drink to go out on a date? Do you ever get into money trouble over buying liquor? Have you lost friends since you’ve started drink ing? Do your friends drink less than you do? Do you drink until the bottle is empty? Have you ever had a loss of memory from drink ing? Do you think you have a problem with a problem with liquor? You don’t have to talk, just sit down and listen. “The empty space inside me has been filled,” says Grace, 24. If you are looking for help A.A. meetings are ev ery weekday at 2265 Danward. If you are looking for more information there is a 24-hr hotline (209) 572-2970 or (866) 50-SOBER (toll-free). Just remember, you’re not alone and all are welcome. Blue Devils’ Advocate Editorial Page 8 Drink, Drive & Die! By Lucy Renteria & Arika Baria Advocate Staff Writers Due to the 18th Amendment of the Constitution between 1970 and 1975, nearly all states’ drinking age was 18 years old. If you were 18 years of age you would be legally allowed to buy alcohol in the United States. It was argued that if people were allowed to fight and die for their country then they should be able to drink a beer after a long day’s work. After the Vietnam War, attitudes towards the soldiers seemed to change as they grew older. The freedom they fought for no longer seemed impor tant. In 1976 states changed the drinking limit back to 21. This made it illegal to buy, drink or possess alcohol. This was due to the massive amount of drunk driving deaths caused by 18 to 21 year olds. By the end of 1980, fourteen out of fifty states in the U.S. had raised the legal drinking age back to 21. In 1984, it was proposed by the federal govern ment for “all states to raise the minimum drinking age to 21 within two years or lose a portion of their federal aid highway funds. This persuaded states to pass mandatory sentencing laws to combat drunk driving through incentive grant programs states were forced to increase the legal drinking age to 21; this law was called the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984.” (Senate Record Vote Analysis.) Many people, primarily teenagers have wondered if lowering the drinking limit will ever be lowered again. Clearly alcohol affects the brain. Alcohol creates a struggle to walk, distorts vision, slows reaction and impairs memory which may also cause any person to make poor judgment. Eighteen year olds are screaming for the legal drinking age to be lowered, but are they thinking clearly or are they too busy concentrating on their weekend? Before they beckon alcohol to cure their uneventful week end they should look into the facts and be patient. In a 2004 Memorial Day weekend at Lake San Antonio, a 17-year-old drove intoxicated, crashing a friend’s SUV headon into a car from Bakersfield carrying a family of five. The mother of three died at the scene of the accident. Alcohol is not the source for a fun weekend; it’s the cause for a mother never to attend her daughter’s wedding. This is one of many reasons why 18 year olds should wait for their alcoholic endeavors. Not necessarily wait to get in a drunken car acci dent but wait until they have the maturity to know when enough is enough and at that age you really don’t know. Although we are able to vote or serve and die for our country we should not take our youth so lightly. We should ex perience our good times with out alcohol. Legal drinking is a milestone for us all. Patience is a virtue and the statistics accu rately show that drinking at the age of 18 increases the deaths of drunk drivers. With that, there is enough said to keep the legal drinking age at 21. Hastiness should not prevail over drunkedness! Blue Devils’ Advocate Editorial Page 9 Drinking Age Creates Forbidden Fruit By Logan Ash Advocate Staff Writer Fsssshh. Knock. Gulp. Knock Aaahh. Those sounds are familiar to some, who often frequent the local bar, pub, or hoffbraü after a day at the office, or a day at the factory seeking to calm the stressed and tired nerves with a cold one. But there are also many people who work, and are not permitted to go into a bar, or even buy a sixpack at the local store, only because they aren’t 21 years of age. This needs to change. In a country that prides itself in being a symbol of freedom, many are not deemed responsible enough to consume alcoholic beverages, despite the fact that they may vote in governmental elections, and they may give their life for their nation in the service of the armed forces. Many nations in the world, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Switzerland have the drinking age set at 18, and many more, such as Spain, France, and Italy have drinking ages set at 16. The United States has a history of excessive drinking laws, the most famous of them being the Prohibition act during the 1920’s, which backfired, created an immense black market in which the Mafia gained enormous power, and ushered in an era of crime controlled by men such as Al Capone and Bugsy Malone. Drinking hardly disappeared during that time, as many speakeasies popped up, a place for the average Joe to enjoy his beer or the average Jane to enjoy her martini. Many atroci ties can be attributed to prohibition such as the St. Valentines Day Massacre, a result of the increased mafia power that came from the illegal liquor mar ket. Obviously, things aren’t that bad anymore, but things have gotten worse since the 1987 drinking law that mandated state drinking ages at 21. This is most readily seen among university and college students. During the years 1982-1987 before the law was implemented, 46% of college students reported vomit after drinking, yet after the law was implemented, that figure rose to over 50%. Alcohol related fights rose from 12% to 17%, and alcohol related absences rose from 26% to 28%. Wouldn’t one think these rates should decrease with the increase of the drinking age? These rates haven’t decreased because access to alcohol hasn’t decreased. It’s not difficult to sneak alcohol out of your parents liquor cabinet, or have someone of le gal age purchase a keg for you to throw your party. All rasing the drinking age has done is to limit the consumption of alcohol to underground binge drinking and parties, portraying it as a forbidden fruit, the young people’s Apple of Knowledge, with our peers, the snake, telling us to partake of it. Take Forbidden out of the equation and you remove the desire to rebel by drinking excessively. Blue Devils’ Advocate Sports Page 10 blue devil winning streak By Benito Ortiz and Sara Almario Advocate Staff Writer TRACK AND FIELD This season, Coach Bob Casey led his team through several meets in Fresno, Diablo Valley and Stanislaus. They participate in events such as the triple jump, sprint events 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, 4 x 100 meter relay, distance running 5K, discus and javelin throwing. With a strong roster of 23 male athletes, the Merced College Track and Field has finished in the top three during past track meets. Four members of the track team have finished in the top three in their events; for the triple jump, Sam Toomer, in discus throwing, Sophomore Trent Ancog and 400 meter runners Robert Ayala and Mark Wilson all finished in the top three. The 4 x 100 meter relay team has finished in the top three as well in during the past meets. The team is composed of Dominic Davis, Sparkle Guy, Dwayne Williams, Sam Toomer and alternate David del Toro. This season their main goal is to finish in the top three during the Valley Conference Champi onships this coming April 28, 2007. If ever they manage to do that, they will be able to join other colleges in the North California State Trials. Trent Ancog, Josh Mori and Sparkle Guy qualified in last year’s trials and this year they are counting on the 4 x 100 meter relay team to qualify. “That’s our main goal this season, to get some of our people in the State Trial”, Coach Casey stated. In prepara tion for their upcoming track meets they practice everyday from 2 to 4 in the afternoon with time recorded runs. The track and field team is looking very opti mistic this season but the only issue regarding their roster is that they don’t have any female athletes. “We need more turnouts for women athletes for the women’s track events”, says Coach Bob Casey, “Also we need a middle distance miler.” This team is definitely strong throughout the spring season and keeps looking better so they’re calling for students to be aware that there is a track and field team and that if ever they are interested, Coach Bob Casey is open for any inquiries. SOFTBALL AND BASEBALL The Baseball division of Merced College keeps on looking brighter with several wins these past games. With a recent win on the road against Porter ville last March 3, 2007, the Blue Devils’ baseball team has an overall record of 11-6. Four of those games were won on the road. The game against Porterville ended with the final score of 11-4, their biggest win since their game against West Valley last February 19, 2007 with the score of 10-5. Although the team has been looking good they did have their big losses at home against Con sumnes River last February 17 with the score of 1-21 and another loss against Taft on the road with a close score of 11-12 last February 24. They bounced back with a win at home against Reedley February 27, with a final score of 9-1 and another win on the road last March 1 against Sequoias, 2-1. Coach Pedretti is looking optimistic about his team and with a Central Valley Conference stand ing of 4-1, he has every reason to be. The She-Devil’s softball team is on a roll with a sweep against West Hills on their double header match March 6 at Coalinga. They ended Game 1 winning 3-1 and managed to get 11 runs and 3 hits during the second inning in Game 2. The players with two RBI’s a piece were Mallory Bair, Megan McColloch and Veronica Luna with pitcher Kirst en Kronberg earning the win after four shutout innings. Samantha Pressler sealed the victory when she worked into the sixth before turning the ball over to Deborah McCollum along with Jessica Merriam powering the She-Devils at Game 1. She had 3 for 4 with a double and two RBIs. The Merced ColContinued to page 11 Blue Devils’ Advocate Sports Continued from page 10 lege She-Devils softball team is 2-2 in the Central Valley Conference. With previous wins against West Valley Febru ary 17, 17-1 and another win at home against the same team February 18 with the final score of 13-5. With only two other losses against Ohlone at home 4-11 February 17 before taking on West Val ley, and against Reedley 3-4 February 27, the SheDevils redeemed themselves against San Francisco College with a 9-5 victory February 18. Looking for a bright conference run this season, Coach Cassady and the She-Devils are looking for ward to qualifying for Conference Championship and hopefully heading to the State Championships. SWIMMING The Men’s Swimming team, which is com posed of 12 swimmers and two divers, will try to Logan Ash/ Advocate make an impact during state qualifications. This year will hopefully come as a good surprise for the men’s swimming team which finished third last year in the conference behind College of Sequoias and Modesto Junior College. The team consists of mostly freshmen and a few returning sophomores, lead by Micha Pavlovic, an All-American Free style in the 50, 100 and 200 meter relays. They have a promising hopeful that might make some heads turn, a diver named Kris Holmquist. The one thing they hope for this year is to qualify for the State Meet in relay and individual by having one of their swimmers to place in the top 12. The Men’s Team has not started the season Page 11 as good as Coach Scott McCall could have imag ined at 1-3, but the season is far from over. For the Women’s team the season has started with an average of a win-loss ratio of 500, with a record of 2-2. This team has a pretty good success record over the last six years with the record of 24 2, which brings the overall total of 28-4. Coming off last year’s season as the defending conference champion, lead by Jenn Dutcher, 200 meter free style swimmer, who is also on the water polo team. “The women’s team has a reputation that has to be kept up and with players as good as we have, it should not be a problem,” says Coach McCall. Other swimmers to watch out for are Kaili Hill, one of the top three girls in the 50 and 100 yard freestyle swimming, and Caly Brown, a distance swimmer and breast stroke from Turlock High School. Coach Bill Halpin has nothing but positive reviews for this team. The endurance, stamina and many other require ments and skills needed to make a strong swim mer, is not as easy as it may look. There are many different types of events that take place in the swimming competition. Some examples include backstroke, relay, breaststroke, freestyle, diving, and not to mention the kinds of measurements they use in events, like meters and yards. Keeping up may not be as easy as it looks but, it is a sport that should be acknowledged. The swimming team is looking forward to facing their competition in the upcoming spring events such as the Cuesta Invitational to be held in San Luis Obispo March 16 to 17, the Swim Meet on March 23 in Modesto and on March 30 in Stockton. BASKETBALL UPDATE The Men’s basketball was eliminated in the first round of the divisional playoffs against Yuba Col lege, on February 23 at home, 77-95. They finish the season with a record of 23-10 and a conference record of 10-4. Looking at big picture they fin ished 14th in the state and sixth in the North Cal. Conference. Unfortunately the Lady Devils did not make the playoffs. Blue Devils’ Advocate The Local Sound Page 12 long live metal! In the midst of an ever growing emo/hardcore rock ing nation, the five members of Fresno’s thrash metal outfit, Writhen, keeps the local metal scene thriving. by Leah Moua Advocate Staff Writer The band was founded by guitarist Ryan Hansen and drummer Wesley Zimmerer almost three years ago. Anton Simanov was added as lead vocalist after he tried playing guitar for the band, but it was decided he should just stick to vocals. The other guitar slinger, Josh Tolbert was added to the band afterwards and bassist Travis Dalldorf made it into the band’s lineup after countless other bassists left due to complications. Writhen’s music is the epitome of what metal is today: bass drums galloping at sonic speed, shredding guitar solos, aggressively low or high pitched vocals and heav ily distorted riffs. When asked what inspired their music, Hansen listed the names of metal heroes that associate all too well with the genre: (Early) Metallica, Pantera, Slay er, Iced Earth, Opeth, Iron Maiden, and Testament, just to name a few. The sound of Writhen as Hansen explains is purely metal. He states people are definitely metal-heads if they look and play metal. “I’m tired of being listed in a sub-genre” he quoted. The bands vocalist, Simanov chooses to sing in a high pitch scream reminiscent to those of thrash metal’s infa mous Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom. Hansen jok ingly said the angry lyrics produced by Simanov are him “venting his small man syndrome”. This is attesting to Continued on pg. 13 Blue Devils’ Advocate The Local Sound Page 13 Continued from pg. 12 the fact that Anton is relatively short compared to Hansen and the other band members. Lyrically, Writhen is about life and death, paranoia, and the struggles of people after they had endured the hor rors of war. Guitars in Writhen are tuned to drop D and then dropped down half a step to accommodate the band’s heavy tones. On this matter, Hansen com mented it was a good median to perform on. “The guitars aren’t too low, but just right”. Hansen also said his soloing was influenced by metal guitar he roes such as: Kirk Hammet of Metallica, Alexi Lai ho, and Alex Skolnick previously of Testament. As far as the song writing process goes for Writhen, Hansen says that he usually writes the majority of the songs with Zimmerer. Then they’ll teach Tolbert and Dalldorf their parts. At this phase, the bass lines are written, and “after the songs are played 50 mil lion times over” as Hansen puts it, “Simanov will write the lyrics to the songs”. One tool that the band utilizes effectively is the power chord. When asked about the production of Limit, one of the band’s heaviest tunes, it was said that the chorus of that piece was constructed mainly with power chords. Hansen mentioned “A lot of bands nowadays try not to use the power chord…It’s one of the build ing blocks of rock and roll…You can’t just get rid of it.” Writhen has played countless shows including The Trench in Merced, but the one most memorable to Hansen is the time they performed at the Star Line venue. Among other local Fresno metal acts: Artery Eruption, and Azathoth; the bands packed a venue with 350-400 bodies that was originally meant for 150.”Everybody was there to see every band…and that was a really cool thing to be a part of”, states Hansen. Another great show of Writhen was the time they performed with Omaha, Nebraska’s pow er metal group, Cellador. Overall, Hansen says the band is just looking for ward to performing at their live shows and they hope to be signed to a record label someday. Be sure to check out Writhen’s myspace page (www.myspace. com/writhenmetal) for updates on the band. “We’re going to be recording again soon,” replied Hansen. The many faces of Ryan Hansen. Blue Devils’ Advocate ENTERTAINMENT Page 14 Trippin’ With James Szyndler Advocate Staff Writer Howdy folks I recently had the pleasure of taking a wonderful bus trip to Yosemite national park put together by our own Merced college to do some snowshoeing, an activity myself and most of the travelers on the trip had never attempted. This would be interesting… I arrived at Merced college in the early morning darkness still waking up as I approached a large via bus.wow I thought… college vans were in the itinerary and this would be great if we had a bus to have a bit more room… and I was pleasantly surprised when I asked our tour coordinaters/chaparones/ Marnee Chua and Sandra Wolf if we were on this comfy looking bus. Yes indeed we are smiles marnee. The trip was originally planned for about 10 to 12 people , but an overwhelming response sent tour host into action and instead of buses and a brown bag lunch we were upgraded to a full tour bus and a great three course lunch at Yosemite National Park . I got on the bus and found a great window seat in the back near the restroom where the seats are a bit roomier. We pulled out onto the road and into the now beautiful rising sun over the sleepy valley. Coffee and donuts were served by Marnee and Sandra, as we traveled along in comfort. This trip was also a Volksport event, an organization representative John Meyer was onboard.Volksport is an international organization that promotes fitness and fellowship through walking and hiking, a pretty cool concept. We were informed that we would all receive credit and the opportunity to join this great organization. The gentleman was full of great information about the park and kept us entertained along the way. We arrived at the majestic El Capitan and pulled over for a stretch “photo op” and to put on the chains, yeah we were in for some fun now I thought. Our driver Aaron, did a outstanding job and provided a comfortable ride into the snow-covered mountains. Arriving at the visitor center we had enough time to take a short hike to the Lower Falls and visit the Ansel Adams museum. This park is a photographers dream and I had the opportunity to speak to other photog’s from around the globe and peek at their equipment and trade great shot opportunities. I felt lucky that I could travel such a short distance to all this beauty. Lunch was served , salad and bread then chicken with vegetables and finally coffee and pie. I was afraid I would need a nap after this awesome lunch, and actually did score some “zzzz” before we hit Badger Pass. The Pass was snow covered and breathtaking, full of snowboarders, skiers and snowshoes alike. We were met by Ranger Andy, who introduced us to the snow shoe and a bit of snowshoe history. We were shown how to strap on our snowshoes, after a bit of confusion with the new equipment we were ready for action. Ranger Andy lead the way up the hill and we stopped along the way to catch a breath and learn about how Yosemite history and how nature and animals survive in the snowy cold environment. The two mile hike was fun and informative, a lil work out with the snowshoe strapped to you feet but it was better than sinking into the knee deep snow. The snowshoe distributes your weight equally and is equipped with a metal claw type bottom to give you some traction and is surprisingly easy to navigate. Arriving back at the Ranger Station we kicked off the snowshoes and got our bearings. We thanked Ranger Andy for the hike and headed back to the bus for a relaxing sleep filled ride home. This is the way to travel folks, Merced College-sponsored trips. The tour guides take care of the planning, traveling and food and you can just enjoy yourself, make new friends and go tripping. Blue Devils’ Advocate MORE Visit the Merced College Community Service Department and check it out Upcoming trips include: 03/24/07 SF FLOWER &GARDEN SHOW&CONSERVATORY OF FLOWERS 03/30/07 “PHANTOM OF THE OPERA” 04/14/07 “THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE”&IRONSTONE WINERY 05/05/07 LETS PLAY BALL -SF GIANTS GAMES If you want more hikes and informative walks contact John Meyer at Volksports International Organization at rjmeyer@vtlnet.com Photos By James Szyndler Page 15 Blue Devils’ Advocate EYE ON VIDEO Page 16 By James Szyndler Guest starring Professor Keith law Advocate Staff Writer Ladies and Gentlemen…boys and girls , children of all religions gather round and listen to me tell the tale of the latest and great est DVD’s out there to rent or buy. Now good readers since I only get to type at you once a month I decided to throw a whole bunch of movies for you to consider spending some of your hard earned bread upon. Lets get started, “Idiocracy” the Mike Judge film buried by the movie industry because of its hilarious take on the future and the corporations that rule it and us. In the film Joe bowers (Luke Wilson) is not the sharpest tool in the shed. But when a government cryogenics experiment goes awry , bowers awakens in the year 2505 to find a society so dumbed -down by mass commercial ism and mindless TV programming that he’s become the smartest guy on the planet. And Yep you guessed it, it’s up to an average Joe to get human evolution back on track! This movie is hilarious and kind of scary because I can see this dumbing down effect taking place now. I wanted a second opinion so I asked my philoso phy professor Keith Law about his rating and thoughts on the film. Keith offered this input… I would give the film a 3.5...very high in my rat ing system, as only a handful of films merit a 5. As a social satire there are visionary depictions that are absolutely brilliant: a brilliant movie about stupidity. . I think the way the director showed that the dumbing down of America would go hand-in-hand with the take-over of every institution by corporations was brilliant. Next up watch this one just to see what everyone is talking about. The movie is BO RAT “Cultural learning’s of America for make benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan” This movie is politically influential, culturally im portant, shockingly tasteless and probably the funniest movie of the year. Kazakhstan’s fourth most famous celebrity travels to the US and A to make a documentary. Lovable Borat meets real people in real situations with hilarious con sequences. You will never see a funnier 10 min naked fight scene than displayed in this film. Not for the kids. A Classic. Next up one for the rock ers…AMERICAN HARDCORE “The history of American punk rock 1980-1986” if you were around then this film will be a nice stroll back into the pit, full of all the friendly violent fun, if you weren’t alive then it will be your backstage pass to the rise and fall of the U.S punk scene, a musical and cultural phenomenon that shaped grunge, emo and the pop/punk music currently riding the charts. See who paved the road that the big corporate tour buses roll on. The film chronicles the hardcore scene that was a swift kick in the head to corporate rock and mainstream complacency, as disaffected teens adopt the same credo- harder, faster, louder. The film features great never before seen foot age from Black Flag, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, and more. Get sweaty in the pit with friends. Now friends we dig deep into the bargain bin and we pull out the 1984 classic “REPO MAN“…it’s 4 am… Do you know where your car is. A young Emilio Estevez and an always old looking Harry Dean Stanton star in this science fiction action packed cult classic about the seedy world of car repossession. Punker Otto Maddox (Estevez) quits his dead end supermarket job and becomes a “repo man” and in no time he is caught up in a series of off the wall adventures involving government agents, UFO cults, Hired Thugs and a lobotomized nuclear scientist, who are all searching for a 64 Chevy Malibu that holds a secret that could change the course of civilization overnight. The films 80’s punk rock soundtrack is killer. Check it out. My favorite scene is about the two way mirrors in John Wayne’s house. Priceless. Well kids that my time, I hope you enjoyed this roll in the hay with DVD’s .that’s all for now. Over and out.
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